T'Set gave a mental sigh, thumb idling around the rim of her glass. Politics. What fun. It seems like mother was right. There was no escaping it. Whatever Captain Zhao's hangup, they would just have to prove the faith held in them to be warranted.
As the other officers started to distribute their orders, she nods to Lt. Batim, before standing fluidly and moving towards the door at a quick clip. There was a lot of work to be done, and very little time in which to do it, so best get right down to it.
As she falls into step with Anjala on their way back to the ship, she can't help but feel another frission of excitement. Everything was coming to a head and she couldn't wait to see where it would lead.

There were times where T'Set was glad of her Vulcan upbringing, times when it allowed her to maintain composure and keep forging ahead despite setbacks. This was one of those times, if for the opposite reasons. Were it not for that training, she had a feeling that she was quite sure that she would have been grinning like a loon, her heart was already racing in excitement. Being segued into Operations Manger right out of the Academy, and on a New Orleans of all things. Well, she doubted that there could have been a better outcome. Not without some other extreme factors playing into it. As it was, she maintained her facade. Such overt displays would have been crude, especially in light of the disaster that had precipitated their rapid ascension to their new rolls.
As the meeting wound down and they were all dismissed, she could barely restrain her impatience. What she wanted was to rush t her room, dump her stuff, and then run back to familiarise herself with her station and post, but she forced herself to proceed at a calm stride, mentally reprimanding herself. 'Patience, T'Set. All else will follow.' She would take her time, set herself up. Familiarise herself with the corridors outside her quarters. Determine the quickest routes to Engineering, the Labs, the Bridge and Canteen, among others, and once she had a grasp on that, she could proceed to Ops and familiarise herself with there as well.

No number on her pad, which was curious, a quick glance up showed the majority of the room already making their way to their assigned divisions, barring a few exceptions. Idly bidding a fellow Ensign from her class farewell, she made note of those remaining unmoving that she could see. Jensen himself and the Lieutenants from earlier, the Betazoid in particular looking confused at her PADD. So she was unlikely to be the only one with an aberrant assignment.
As the Chief addresses the crowd, she nods to herself. That would explain it, though she could not guess why they were being singled out so early. Still, she better get on with it.
Moving through the room, she comes to a stop in front of the Chief, inclining her head respectfully.
"Master Chief. Ensign T'Set, reporting as requested." Moving over to the rest of the gaggle of officers, she offers them a nod in turn. "It is pleasant to see you all again so soon, Lieutenants, Doctor."

Sitting there with chin still resting on interlaced fingers, T'Set observed the three Lieutenants and their game, though her mind was drifting somewhat, the earlier confrontation having given her some food for thought. The situation with Jensen was unsustainable in it's current format, and would likely see someone hurt before long, either Jensen from a "joke" taken too far, or Garner and his ilk, when Jensen inevitable snapped back at them. That event, when it happened, would likely be a spectacle for all of his relative powerlessness up till this point. The idea of any of them being harmed in these exchanges was..... unsettling. Unsettling, yet inevitable. Logic would dictate that any status quo be impossible to maintain indefinitely. Entropy as a universal constant would wear one down till something broke.
And so she makes her decision, cleaning away her tea before approaching Jensen, who seemed to be lost in the depths of his drink. She pauses beside him for a moment, waiting to see if he noticed, before murmuring a quiet "Jensen" to catch his attention. The full body flinch she receives in return has her raising a single eyebrow at the disproportionate response before smoothly moving on after a half hearted greeting from the young officer.
"Jensen. I will be approaching the Lieutenants, both to introduce and to ask to join their game. I would recommend that you come with me and do the same."
The quiet murmer of the room covers up the hushed tones of their conversation, and there is a moment of stunned silence as he processes the blunt statement.
"Uhm... n-no. That's all right. I can go and introduce myself later, or something. I-i mean, uh, When they're not busy. Or something. I wouldn't want to bother them on their down time." he offers her a strained smile at the unimpressed look he receives. The quick flick of his eyes towards where Garner has seated himself betrays the focus of his worries, but then, she hardly needed to be a quantum physicist to have figured that one out. As he looks to continue his stuttered denial, she interrupts with a firm tone.
"Jensen. You have known me for four years, and you should know enough of my people to guess what might be coming. So, if you truly wish to go through the song and dance, I can proceed to Logic you into submission." The wry twist of her lips is enough to rob most of the sting from her comment. A normal Vulcan might have been a little more circumspect, or at least not so overtly joking about their own peoples way of doing things, but T'Set had been among other species for a long time and from a very young age. "Or, you can save us both the time and just get up to follow me."
The gobsmacked expression on Jensens's face was worth it though, already halfway out of his seat. She favours him with a nod at that, before pivoting around and making her way to the Lieutenants, coming to a stop just by the table, offering a slight bow in greeting.
"Please forgive our intrusion. I am Ensign T'Set and this is Ensign Jensen. If it is not too presumptious of us, may we join the game?"

Inclining her head in acknowledgement of Garner's greeting, not a flicker on her face to bely the mental sigh of exasperation as he made a bee-line towards Jensen. Emminently predictable. Seemingly graduation had not proved an adequate catalyst for his moving beyond his petty grievances. Irritation mounting, she debated her course of action. She could remain aloof from the situation, as she had done for the last four years, certainly. The other Ensigns would almost certainly expect it to be the case, in fact. Never mind that it was her own coursework stacked on top of her extra curriculars that had kept her attention, rather than any particularly guided apathy. So yes, there was the Status quo as an option.
The second option didn't bear much thinking on. Align herself with Garner and the other two to begin forming a power block among the Ensigns. No. Not at the cost of one of her own. Social distance or not.
The third involved the same, just alongside Jensen instead of Garner and his companions. She would admit that emotionally, this was the more tempting option, even if she couldn't precisely explain why to herself at the moment. Having an ally would likely cause the others to at least proceed more cautiously, even though it would put her in their firing line. Still, their juvenile baiting would prove less effective against her, their kind sought reactions and Vulcans were notorious for not reacting at all.
Still. Her mother would be disappointed if she didn't at least try to start a dialogue.
With the tension mounting between the other Ensigns at Jensen's little byplay, she took one final sip of her tea before placing it down once more, the audibly clack serving to break the charged silence as well as to draw their attention to herself. Weaving her fingers together and resting her chin on them, she graced them with an indifferent look.
"Garner. Do you not feel this is beneath you now?" ...... probably a lot blunter than her mother would have hoped, but then, N'Evran had despaired of T'Set becoming a diplomat years ago.

The game had been ongoing for some time now and T'Set was indulging an idle past-time she had picked up on her rare downtimes in the Academy. People watching. They were playing Blackjack. A logical choice, given the capabilities of the players. But one from which you could infer much about someone. And one was a Vulcan, though those ridges implied some heritage from another species. Wrong shape for Cardassian. Klingon, perhaps. It would make sense, with the Alliance between the two factions.
Raising her tea, she takes a sip as the door opens and one of her former classmates and now comrades walked through the door. Jensen. An anomaly, even among the gifted at the academy. They had not run together during their Academy days, not really. Both too focused on their separate fields of study to warrant much overlap. Though she had noted an illogical fixation among some of her classmates on the younger man. She had put it down to hormones in conjunction with the high stress atmosphere and close quarters, but had ultimately been to focused on her studies to seek the truth. Regardless, his achievements were to be lauded and there would be plenty of time to get to know him on whatever mission they had all been earmarked for.
His attention seemed caught by the Xir'Tanian. She did not know what to make of that one. She had not considered that they too might seek to leave Vulcan, leaving their mines behind..... but then, she supposed they would be used to the hard labour and so would prove useful on a Starship. Still, though, it was good to see, though would likely take some getting used to.
Returning her attention to the young man, she found his attention returned to her. After a brief assessing gaze, she inclined her head slightly in greeting, a quiet "Jensen" accompanying before gesturing to the empty seats around her in quiet invitation before her gaze returned to the game, though not as focused as before. More contemplative.

Ensign T'Set
Age: 18
Species: Vulcan
Rank: Ensign
Planet of Birth: Vulcan
Current Assignment: Chief of Operations, USS Destiny
Personality:
Born to a prominent Diplomat, T'Set has had the weight of expectations on her shoulder since she was born. Having to measure each step and interaction based on how it will reflect on not only her mother, but Sarek's Circle as a whole. Given this, she is typically Vulcan in her displays of emotion, though since beginning starfleet she has begun to come out of that shell of Stoicism a bit more. Though that still leaves most Vulcans looking expressive by comparison.
She is an intensely curious person, searching out and actively pursuing as many fields as she can.
History:
As a young girl, T'Set never knew her father. Her mother, N'Evran, raised her as close to single handedly as it was possible to, given her status within Sarek's Circle and the extensive demands on her time. For all that, though, she has always attempted to make time where possible. Spotting the first inklings of interest in the Sciences at a young age, she not only encouraged the young Vulcan, but provided her with resources to help her flourish. It both provided her with an outlet as well as a distraction from how often she was ostensibly alone.
Once she was old enough to warrant tutoring, her life changed. For the first time she was not only provided the materials for self learning, but also a stranger who she could talk to about her learnings. Her mother was all well and good, but their two voices alone did not allow for proper discourse. She took to her tutors with an alacrity that brought a quiet sense of satisfaction and pride in her mother, and surprised appreciation from her tutors. Vulcans may have a grounding in the sciences, but children were still children and they did not expect the student that T'Set turned out to be. A rare gem for them.
It was this introduction to her tutors that turned her interest from the purely internal academic to the external practical. Their tales of other species developments, their own experiences out in the world ignited a certain desire in her. Between the new people, and the knowledge they brought her, she eventually decided she wanted to go out into the universe at large. She was still very young at the time, so her desires were met with a calm acknowledgement and a deferral till she was older.
As she grew, she continued apace in her studies, focusing primarily on the Sciences and Engineering. More and more T'Set was being looked at not as a likely candidate for the Vulcan Science Academy but more as a prize for which discipline at the Academy would win her. At one stage or another, with all of this attention being given her, word must have filtered back through social circles , because towards the end of her 13th year, she received an offer from Starfleet. They were planning a new program and needed a test class as a proof of concept. Her mother, having been aware of the programs formation as well as T'Set's interest in the potential for exploration gave permission for her attendance, a mixture of pride and worry underneath the traditional Vulcan stoicism. And so, at the tender age of 14, T'Set was bundled up and shipped to Starfleet with the rest of the young teenagers.
Th first couple of months in the course were almost intoxicating. Her first time off her Homeworld. Her first time interacting with so many non-Vulcans. Her first time truly being among a group of her peers. Everything here was something new, and she relished in it, in being pushed to her limits and even beyond. Some nights she barely had the energy to crawl into her bunk, but for the first time she felt content in a way she had never been previously. Even here, though, she practiced a certain amount of self sufficiency. Her earlier years had instilled a certain level of self determination that, while not enough to have her labelled as a lone wolf, was enough that she had a select grouping of close friends and beyond that most of her classmates were acquaintances. And even then, she would regularly have her nose buried in her PADD.
The work was hard and the Semesters long. Even with all they were being taught, there was so much more to learn. Her grounding in the Sciences was excellent, but she chose to move into the Command structure. Allowing her to begin to once again expand her knowledge base, after all, she reasoned. With her time in Starfleet, she would not only be a Scientist, but an Explorer, and she wanted to be able to direct that as much as possible. It was while at the Academy that she published her first paper, a treatise on certain exotic energy sources and their potential harnessing and implementation. Something that she had been working on for a long time, but that her presence in Starfleet and the ready access to better equipment allowed her to finally finish.
When the course eventually came to it's close, the original class had been whittled down to a fraction of it's original size, but these young children exemplified the best and brightest that the federation had to offer. While the overall goals of the test case may not have been met, with too many washouts and long term issues, the Cadets that have made their way through will have their careers watched with intense interest. In fact, interest intense enough that many of them have been pulled from the traditional Cadet Cruise and slotted straight into the rotation, T'Set and a few others receiving their marching orders to report to Deep Space 3-9.
Carreer:
Freshly graduated from the Academy, T'Set has not career behind her as of yet, just the work that she undertook peripheral to the course. That this work reflects well on her, that she was able to complete it while undergoing the rigours of the Academy is happy coincidence. She is hopeful, though. The call to DS 3-9 means that someone somewhere has something in mind for her and her classmates. All very hush hush for now, though. She is quite looking forward to finding out what it might be.